"There is no Indigenous leadership"
Indigenous political structures often operate differently than they do in the broader Australian community. The western system of representative democracy is not a traditional characteristic of Indigenous cultures, where leadership can be inherited, conferred by age, status or cultural authority. There is a complex rule system regarding ‘who can speak about what’ which interplays and overlaps between gender, social standing as well as neighbouring and local knowledge.
There are high profile national Indigenous leaders such as Noel Pearson, Lowitja O’Donoghue, Mick Dodson, Marcia Langton, Peter Yu and Patrick Dodson. But there are many more leaders who operate at the regional and community level.
Aboriginal people are not a homogenous group of people: they comprise a collection of nations, similar to Europe, with different languages and cultural practices, and confronting different challenges in their communities. In much the same way international diplomacy operates, a leader of one nation cannot speak for the country of another.
Given the demographics of Indigenous communities where 60% of the population is under the age of 25, there is a strong case for government to invest in future generations of leaders.35 The fact that the life expectancy of Indigenous Australians is 17 years lower than other Australians also has very real implications for leadership.
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35 Reconciliation Australia Summary of Preliminary Research Findings (governance project) p.18
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